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The partnership between BOZAR and Ciné-ONU started in 2009 with the screening of “The Choir” to mark Human Rights Day. Since then, the partnership has continued with a series of joint communication and information projects to mark three international days in the UN calendar every year - International Women’s Day, World Environment Day and Human Rights Day.

Films that have been screened at BOZAR include:

“The Choir” - a film about the music that united a group of inmates battling to survive in South Africa’s biggest prison.

“Children of War” - follows the story of a group of former child soldiers in Northern Uganda.

“Die Fremde” - over a 1,000 people attended to watch the story of a young woman of Turkish descent, fighting for an independent and self-determined life in Germany against the resistance of her family with terrible consequences.

“Into Eternity” - the story of Onkalo, the world’s first permanent repository for high-level radio-active waste created by nuclear power plants.

“Cairo 678” - tells the poignant story of three women and their search for justice from the daily plight of sexual harassment in Egypt.

“Planet Ocean” - screened at the RIO+20 Summit to "change the way people look at the oceans and to encourage them to imagine conservation and stewardship as responsibilities shared by everyone on earth".

"NO" - the story of the plebiscite on Pinochet’s presidency in which the country could vote YES or NO to an extension of his rule for a further eight years.

"Sweet Dreams" - tells the moving and powerful story of Rwanda's first and only all women's drumming troupe. Made up of women from both sides of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the troupe offers a place of support, healing and reconciliation. When the group decides to partner with two young American entrepreneurs to open Rwanda's first ever ice cream shop, these remarkable women embark on a journey of independence, peace and possibility.

Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and the Audience Award for US dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, director Ryan Coogler's “Fruitvale Station” follows the last 24 hours in the life of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old resident of the San Francisco Bay area, who was shot dead by a transport cop in the early hours of 2009. It's a sharp, earthy, convincing film about a true-life case; and a heartfelt memorial to the man at its centre.

Winner of the Global Justice Award, at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, "Light Fly, Fly High" by Beathe Hofseth and Susann Østigaard is the fascinating story of a young woman who dares to challenge society's expectations. It tells the story of Thulasi, a young Indian woman who is literally willing to fight for the right to be herself. Not only is she a woman, but she is also a "Dalit," or "untouchable" in the Indian caste system, and therefore expected to accept her position at the very bottom of the social ladder. But Thulasi is different. She wants to be independent. She wants to be a boxer.

With candid interviews, unseen archives and rare photographs, McCullinshows how war photographer Don McCullin created some of the latter twentieth-century’s most iconic images of man's inhumanity to man. Working at a critical time in global photojournalism, he witnessed the change of ethos to publishing and editorial freedom for newspapers to print what they wanted, free from constraints of advertisers. He brought the impact and reality of human conflict to the general reader, going on war assignments sometimes with only twenty rolls of film. He was shooting with a respect for image now disappearing from the digital age; and this film was shot on 16mm in order to fully compliment his work.

Virunga National Park is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth and home to the planet’s last remaining mountain gorillas. A powerful combination of investigative journalism and nature documentary, “VIRUNGA” is the incredible true story of a group of courageous people risking their lives to build a better future in a part of Africa the world has forgotten, and a gripping exposé of the realities of life in the Congo. The film was screened on 9 December 2014 to mark Human Rights Day.

Inspired by the acclaimed book by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, “Merchants of Doubt” takes the audience on a satirically comedic, yet illuminating ride into the heart of conjuring American spin. Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the curtain on a secretive group of highly charismatic, silver-tongued pundits-for-hire who present themselves in the media as scientific authorities – yet have the contrary aim of spreading maximum confusion about well-studied public threats ranging from toxic chemicals to pharmaceuticals to climate change. The film was screened on 8 June 2015 to mark World Environment Day.

“I am Nojoom” is the story of Yemeni teenager Nojoom Ali’s bid to legally extricate herself from an abusive, arranged marriage to a much older man (which took place when she was just 10 years old). Khadija Al-Salami beautifully adapted the subsequent bestseller into an emphatic drama that features a wonderful performance from Reham Mohammed as the young Ali, and a striking backdrop of Yemen’s astonishing mountain villages and ancient “skyscrapers.” The screening at BOZAR on 9 March 2016 marked International Women’s Day and was a complete sell out with director Khadija Al-Salami on the Q&A panel.

Past screenings

The Brussels based United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe - UNRIC provides information on UN activities to the countries of the region. It also provides liaison with institutions of the European Union in the field of information. Its outreach activities extend to all segments of society and joint campaigns, projects and events are organized with partners including the EU, governments, the media, NGOs, schools and local authorities.